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RE: Feeling tense about tense - a call for examples please
Subject:RE: Feeling tense about tense - a call for examples please From:jhamilton%XN_TECHNOLOGIES -at- xn-tech -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 23 Mar 2001 10:22:33 -0800
</lurk>
Steve Hudson cites the following examples of future tense:
>>Holding down the SPACE BAR will allow dragging the screen
like the Grab tool.
>>On each click the magnification will double.
>>The part of the page enclosed by the zoom marquee will
be displayed at the maximum magnification possible.
I agree with those posters advocating writing in the present tense. In my
ever so humble opinion as a techwriter intern and student, eliminating the
"will"s makes the action more immediate, creates greater clarity, and saves
space.
Here are my suggestions:
>Holding down the SPACE BAR allows dragging the screen
like the Grab tool.
>On each click the magnification doubles.
>The part of the page enclosed by the zoom marquee is displayed at the
maximum magnification possible.
Does it *really* matter, in the long run? I guess, like everything, it
depends. I've found lots of examples of future tense in our documentation,
similar to Steve Hudson's. Future tense *can* add emphasis to the results
of an action--for example:
>Pushing the red button WILL launch the warhead and cause widespread death
and destruction.
</armagheddon><armagheddon>
Well, so much for my first posting.
>The best way to predict the future... is to create it!
Agreed.
Janet Hamilton (Student and Tech Writer Intern Extraordinare)
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